This invention relates to game devices and, in particular, to a game device used by competing players to propel table tennis balls or similar projectiles by pneumatic or mechanical means from peripheral locations toward a central receiving target.
Game devices employing mechanical or pneumatic means for propelling projectiles are well known. However, such devices are generally in the nature of a gun or the like, which is aimed and fires a projectile at a target having no particular physical association with the projectile propulsion means. The use of such devices requires somewhat complex and time-consuming procedures for loading the propulsion means and for retrieving the fired projectile. Such devices are not suitable for concurrent repetitive use by a plurality of players. Examples of such devices are shown in Cooper et al U.S. Pat. No. 650,633 issued May 29, 1900; Fuda U.S. Pat. No. 1,033,094 issued July 23, 1912; Bednar U.S. Pat. No. 2,993,297, issued July 25, 1961 and Antonelli Italian Pat. No. 474,435 issued Sept. 23, 1952.
U.S. application Ser. No. 865,735, filed Dec. 29, 1977, assigned to the assignee of the present application, discloses a pneumatically operated game device in which the players are stationary and the actuators are manually operated and which requires participants to manually collect and reload projectiles which missed the receiving target.
By locating the target within a field adapted to guide off-target balls to positions from which they can be relaunched and be requiring podial operation of the actuators and by spacing the actuators so as to require substantial physical locomotion of participants in the game, the present invention seeks to satisfy the continuing need for a competitive game requiring the exercise of some skills and requiring physical locomotion by participants and occasioning incidental physical contacts among participants.